[SOLVED] Considering a used prebuilt PC, input please

[dan_wa]

Although I've been pretty tech savvy & have built several PC's from the MOBO up, I'm an old guy & I have recently had some financial & health related issues which have compromised my abilities. I'm considering replacing my current build with a used PC from a Seattle dealer (I live in WA) which specializes in used machines for those in need. If someone could help me select the best buy/best machine for the $$$, I would appreciate it very very much. Looking for faster than my existing PC.

My current build is this CPU:http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/Core_i7/Intel-Core i7-950 AT80601002112AA (BX80601950 - BXC80601950).html

Running on this MOBO: https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813121362?cm_re=BLKDX58SO_Core_I7_Intel_X58-_-13-121-362-_-Product

I'm running 12 gig of DDR3 triple channel memory w/a clock speed of 540.5 MHZ.

Running win7 64 bit, dual boot, pro on one SSD, home on another SSD. I have 2 x 2TB HDD's for storage. All drives are SATA III.

I would like to be able to install at least the two storage HDD's into the PC I buy. I use the PC mostly for word processing, general Internet, as well as playing DL'd videos from binary newsgoups (in other words, it's also my "TV") . I am finding my current machine is getting quite SLOOOOOWWWW...

These are the used machines I'm considering https://interconnection.org/retailstore/desktops.html?limit=all Probably have to go with a tower form factor. I'd really like to be able to do this for around $350 or less.

I know this question is a PITA. My apologies. If anyone has any suggestions from the above, that would be great. I'm open to doing another build, but I would need to reuse my PSU, vid card, memory, etc. Probably would end up being more than used PC price.

Thank you again

Dan

 

[maxamillionfeettall]

Your current pc is still viable, especially since you're not doing anything intensive. It could be slow due to factors like simply the ssd and hdd's being full. There may be some process that keeps the cpu or ssd pegged at 100%. The cpu could also be throttling due to heat from a dirty heatsink or lack of airflow. Many possibilities.

Check your pc temps first with your choice of temp monitoring programs, if you don't have one, speccy, hwmonitor, Aida64, speedfan are examples.

Like my pc (also x58 platform), yours doesn't have sata 3.0, this effectively halves the ssd performance. If you clean up the pc or do a re-install, I'd consider picking up a sata 3.0(6GB/s) pci-e card to get the full speed out of your ssd.

 

[tennis2]

I agree with Max. Current CPU + RAM + Mobo are still fine.

Why do you need Win7 Pro AND Home?

I'd recommend reformatting your PC. If you get a new one, you'd have to do that anyway. It's free, except for your time (probably take you 4 hours to reformat and get it back to the way you currently have it). Free Windows 10 upgrade? Maybe you just use this opportunity to get a single larger SSD? 500GB costs $45-$60. If you decide the reformat didn't speed things up as much as you wanted, the SSD can just be carried over to the new system.

The big advantage of SSDs is their latency relative to HDDs. Sure, SATA2 isn't going to allow you to hit 500MB/s (if your SSDs even can), but you're still getting the benefit of them.

Of the refurbs on that website, this Dell T1700 for $340 stands out to me. See if you can talk them down. Chances are you can get it for under $300.

 

[dan_wa]

Thanks for the reply. I actually do have a SATA 3 pci-e card w/4 connections. The only thing I have connected directly to the MOBO is the DVD drive, which I rarely use . And I use Speccy to monitor temps, etc., all fine. I think you're right that the Home install is old & probably bogged with junk. I'm attempting to make the Pro install the main OS but have run into minor annoyances, like TBird there will not display individual message address info etc. for some reason. Also gotta be some pita with this stuff. I'd be pretty hosed if this PC failed at some point, if you had a chance to look at them, do any of the used machines on that link look like a particularly good deal?

Thanks again, I appreciate your time.

 

[dan_wa]

I agree with Max. Current CPU + RAM + Mobo are still fine.

Why do you need Win7 Pro AND Home?

I'd recommend reformatting your PC. If you get a new one, you'd have to do that anyway. It's free, except for your time (probably take you 4 hours to reformat and get it back to the way you currently have it). Free Windows 10 upgrade? Maybe you just use this opportunity to get a single larger SSD? 500GB costs $45-$60. If you decide the reformat didn't speed things up as much as you wanted, the SSD can just be carried over to the new system.

The big advantage of SSDs is their latency relative to HDDs. Sure, SATA2 isn't going to allow you to hit 500MB/s (if your SSDs even can), but you're still getting the benefit of them.

I just have always liked having dual boot in case one install craps out for whatever reason. I know about the one time 7 to 10 upgrade, assuming M$ is still doing that. I've run 10 a bit & have a valid 10 install disk, I just like 7 better. Truth be told, I wish I could go back to win2K!!! What, I told you I was an "old guy"... ;-)

Thanks for the reply.

 

[tennis2]

So you're sitting on $250-300 (retail value) worth of Windows keys for your one system?....something wrong with that picture.

If you're worried about downtime, create a disk image once you've done the fresh install (and put your other programs and such on there, but before you muck it all up with daily usage). Then if something goes wrong you simply reload the disk image and you're good to go. This is what corporations do. That would cut that ~4 hours down to 1 or less.

If you're worried about data loss, you should have a backup plan in place (not just the HDDs inside your case). This can be anything from an external hdd to cloud storage.
Priority 1, just have a second copy of your data somewhere.
Priority 2, unpowered in the event of a power surge (lightening strike, if your PSU fries your system, etc) which can be done via external HDD, or cloud storage.
Priority 3, offsite backup (if your house burns down). Keep a HDD at a family member's house, or again cloud storage.

Windows 7 will be EOL'd on Jan 14, 2020.

You can download the latest Windows 10 install directly from Microsoft for free. Just install that, and when it asks for your Windows key, type in your Win7 (probably the Pro) key. I just did that successfully a couple months ago on a refurb. That's also why all the refurbs come with Win10.